Zhurova urged not to hold tournaments in countries with political restrictions

Countries that impose restrictions on athletes for political reasons should refrain from holding international competitions on their territory. Svetlana Zhurova, a deputy of the State Duma and Olympic champion in speed skating, shared this belief with Izvestia on June 26.

"Then you don't have to take responsibility and take such competitions to your country to host the World Cup, European Championships, World Cups or any international competitions. Then you say: "We are not sports outside politics, we are sports with politics, that's it, period, we don't conduct them," Zhurova explained.

She considered such measures to be the only way out of the situation, but stressed that international federations might not agree to this.

On your own skate: how the Czech Republic Gymnastics Tournament ended

In the women's team, the bid for the world championship in Jakarta is obvious, but the men have personnel problems.

The Russian rhythmic gymnastics team refused to participate in the Challenge Cup in Romania on June 26. It was clarified that the organizers of the competition verbally notified the Russian side that if the athletes won, they would not display the national flag of the Russian Federation or sing the national anthem in the arena.

Mikhail Degtyarev, Minister of Sports and Chairman of the Russian Olympic Committee, said on the same day that Russia would do everything possible to ensure that Romania would never host international competitions again. He called the Romanian side's decision a treacherous violation of the Olympic Charter and the charter of World Gymnastics.